RNA polymerase II dynamics and mRNA stability feedback scale mRNA amounts with cell size.

A fundamental feature of cellular growth is that total protein and RNA amounts increase with cell size to keep concentrations approximately constant. A key component of this is that global transcription rates increase in larger cells. Here, we identify RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) as the limiting factor scaling mRNA transcription with cell size in budding yeast, as transcription is highly sensitive to the dosage of RNAPII but not to other components of the transcriptional machinery. Our experiments support a dynamic equilibrium model where global RNAPII transcription at a given size is set by the mass action recruitment kinetics of unengaged nucleoplasmic RNAPII to the genome. However, this only drives a sub-linear increase in transcription with size, which is then partially compensated for by a decrease in mRNA decay rates as cells enlarge. Thus, limiting RNAPII and feedback on mRNA stability work in concert to scale mRNA amounts with cell size.

High-Throughput Discovery and Characterization of Human Transcriptional Effectors.

Thousands of proteins localize to the nucleus; however, it remains unclear which contain transcriptional effectors. Here, we develop HT-recruit, a pooled assay where protein libraries are recruited to a reporter, and their transcriptional effects are measured by sequencing. Using this approach, we measure gene silencing and activation for thousands of domains. We find a relationship between repressor function and evolutionary age for the KRAB domains, discover that Homeodomain repressor strength is collinear with Hox genetic organization, and identify activities for several domains of unknown function. Deep mutational scanning of the CRISPRi KRAB maps the co-repressor binding surface and identifies substitutions that improve stability/silencing. By tiling 238 proteins, we find repressors as short as ten amino acids. Finally, we report new activator domains, including a divergent KRAB. These results provide a resource of 600 human proteins containing effectors and demonstrate a scalable strategy for assigning functions to protein domains.

Increasing cell size remodels the proteome and promotes senescence.

Cell size is tightly controlled in healthy tissues, but it is unclear how deviations in cell size affect cell physiology. To address this, we measured how the cell's proteome changes with increasing cell size. Size-dependent protein concentration changes are widespread and predicted by subcellular localization, size-dependent mRNA concentrations, and protein turnover. As proliferating cells grow larger, concentration changes typically associated with cellular senescence are increasingly pronounced, suggesting that large size may be a cause rather than just a consequence of cell senescence. Consistent with this hypothesis, larger cells are prone to replicative, DNA-damage-induced, and CDK4/6i-induced senescence. Size-dependent changes to the proteome, including those associated with senescence, are not observed when an increase in cell size is accompanied by an increase in ploidy. Together, our findings show how cell size could impact many aspects of cell physiology by remodeling the proteome and provide a rationale for cell size control and polyploidization.

Transcriptional and chromatin-based partitioning mechanisms uncouple protein scaling from cell size.

Biosynthesis scales with cell size such that protein concentrations generally remain constant as cells grow. As an exception, synthesis of the cell-cycle inhibitor Whi5 "sub-scales" with cell size so that its concentration is lower in larger cells to promote cell-cycle entry. Here, we find that transcriptional control uncouples Whi5 synthesis from cell size, and we identify histones as the major class of sub-scaling transcripts besides WHI5 by screening for similar genes. Histone synthesis is thereby matched to genome content rather than cell size. Such sub-scaling proteins are challenged by asymmetric cell division because proteins are typically partitioned in proportion to newborn cell volume. To avoid this fate, Whi5 uses chromatin-binding to partition similar protein amounts to each newborn cell regardless of cell size. Disrupting both Whi5 synthesis and chromatin-based partitioning weakens G1 size control. Thus, specific transcriptional and partitioning mechanisms determine protein sub-scaling to control cell size.

The changing mouse embryo transcriptome at whole tissue and single-cell resolution.

During mammalian embryogenesis, differential gene expression gradually builds the identity and complexity of each tissue and organ system1. Here we systematically quantified mouse polyA-RNA from day 10.5 of embryonic development to birth, sampling 17 tissues and organs. The resulting developmental transcriptome is globally structured by dynamic cytodifferentiation, body-axis and cell-proliferation gene sets that were further characterized by the transcription factor motif codes of their promoters. We decomposed the tissue-level transcriptome using single-cell RNA-seq (sequencing of RNA reverse transcribed into cDNA) and found that neurogenesis and haematopoiesis dominate at both the gene and cellular levels, jointly accounting for one-third of differential gene expression and more than 40% of identified cell types. By integrating promoter sequence motifs with companion ENCODE epigenomic profiles, we identified a prominent promoter de-repression mechanism in neuronal expression clusters that was attributable to known and novel repressors. Focusing on the developing limb, single-cell RNA data identified 25 candidate cell types that included progenitor and differentiating states with computationally inferred lineage relationships. We extracted cell-type transcription factor networks and complementary sets of candidate enhancer elements by using single-cell RNA-seq to decompose integrative cis-element (IDEAS) models that were derived from whole-tissue epigenome chromatin data. These ENCODE reference data, computed network components and IDEAS chromatin segmentations are companion resources to the matching epigenomic developmental matrix, and are available for researchers to further mine and integrate.

The MicroRNA-132 and MicroRNA-212 Cluster Regulates Hematopoietic Stem Cell Maintenance and Survival with Age by Buffering FOXO3 Expression.

MicroRNAs are critical post-transcriptional regulators of hematopoietic cell-fate decisions, though little remains known about their role in aging hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). We found that the microRNA-212/132 cluster (Mirc19) is enriched in HSCs and is upregulated during aging. Both overexpression and deletion of microRNAs in this cluster leads to inappropriate hematopoiesis with age. Enforced expression of miR-132 in the bone marrow of mice led to rapid HSC cycling and depletion. A genetic deletion of Mirc19 in mice resulted in HSCs that had altered cycling, function, and survival in response to growth factor starvation. We found that miR-132 exerted its effect on aging HSCs by targeting the transcription factor FOXO3, a known aging associated gene. Our data demonstrate that Mirc19 plays a role in maintaining balanced hematopoietic output by buffering FOXO3 expression. We have thus identified it as a potential target that might play a role in age-related hematopoietic defects.

Splicing-independent loading of TREX on nascent RNA is required for efficient expression of dual-strand piRNA clusters in Drosophila.

The conserved THO/TREX (transcription/export) complex is critical for pre-mRNA processing and mRNA nuclear export. In metazoa, TREX is loaded on nascent RNA transcribed by RNA polymerase II in a splicing-dependent fashion; however, how TREX functions is poorly understood. Here we show that Thoc5 and other TREX components are essential for the biogenesis of piRNA, a distinct class of small noncoding RNAs that control expression of transposable elements (TEs) in the Drosophila germline. Mutations in TREX lead to defects in piRNA biogenesis, resulting in derepression of multiple TE families, gametogenesis defects, and sterility. TREX components are enriched on piRNA precursors transcribed from dual-strand piRNA clusters and colocalize in distinct nuclear foci that overlap with sites of piRNA transcription. The localization of TREX in nuclear foci and its loading on piRNA precursor transcripts depend on Cutoff, a protein associated with chromatin of piRNA clusters. Finally, we show that TREX is required for accumulation of nascent piRNA precursors. Our study reveals a novel splicing-independent mechanism for TREX loading on nascent RNA and its importance in piRNA biogenesis.

Long-range single-molecule mapping of chromatin accessibility in eukaryotes.

Mapping open chromatin regions has emerged as a widely used tool for identifying active regulatory elements in eukaryotes. However, existing approaches, limited by reliance on DNA fragmentation and short-read sequencing, cannot provide information about large-scale chromatin states or reveal coordination between the states of distal regulatory elements. We have developed a method for profiling the accessibility of individual chromatin fibers, a single-molecule long-read accessible chromatin mapping sequencing assay (SMAC-seq), enabling the simultaneous, high-resolution, single-molecule assessment of chromatin states at multikilobase length scales. Our strategy is based on combining the preferential methylation of open chromatin regions by DNA methyltransferases with low sequence specificity, in this case EcoGII, an N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methyltransferase, and the ability of nanopore sequencing to directly read DNA modifications. We demonstrate that aggregate SMAC-seq signals match bulk-level accessibility measurements, observe single-molecule nucleosome and transcription factor protection footprints, and quantify the correlation between chromatin states of distal genomic elements.

Transgenerationally inherited piRNAs trigger piRNA biogenesis by changing the chromatin of piRNA clusters and inducing precursor processing.

Small noncoding RNAs that associate with Piwi proteins, called piRNAs, serve as guides for repression of diverse transposable elements in germ cells of metazoa. In Drosophila, the genomic regions that give rise to piRNAs, the so-called piRNA clusters, are transcribed to generate long precursor molecules that are processed into mature piRNAs. How genomic regions that give rise to piRNA precursor transcripts are differentiated from the rest of the genome and how these transcripts are specifically channeled into the piRNA biogenesis pathway are not known. We found that transgenerationally inherited piRNAs provide the critical trigger for piRNA production from homologous genomic regions in the next generation by two different mechanisms. First, inherited piRNAs enhance processing of homologous transcripts into mature piRNAs by initiating the ping-pong cycle in the cytoplasm. Second, inherited piRNAs induce installment of the histone 3 Lys9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) mark on genomic piRNA cluster sequences. The heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) homolog Rhino binds to the H3K9me3 mark through its chromodomain and is enriched over piRNA clusters. Rhino recruits the piRNA biogenesis factor Cutoff to piRNA clusters and is required for efficient transcription of piRNA precursors. We propose that transgenerationally inherited piRNAs act as an epigenetic memory for identification of substrates for piRNA biogenesis on two levels: by inducing a permissive chromatin environment for piRNA precursor synthesis and by enhancing processing of these precursors.

Piwi induces piRNA-guided transcriptional silencing and establishment of a repressive chromatin state.

In the metazoan germline, piwi proteins and associated piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) provide a defense system against the expression of transposable elements. In the cytoplasm, piRNA sequences guide piwi complexes to destroy complementary transposon transcripts by endonucleolytic cleavage. However, some piwi family members are nuclear, raising the possibility of alternative pathways for piRNA-mediated regulation of gene expression. We found that Drosophila Piwi is recruited to chromatin, colocalizing with RNA polymerase II (Pol II) on polytene chromosomes. Knockdown of Piwi in the germline increases expression of transposable elements that are targeted by piRNAs, whereas protein-coding genes remain largely unaffected. Derepression of transposons upon Piwi depletion correlates with increased occupancy of Pol II on their promoters. Expression of piRNAs that target a reporter construct results in a decrease in Pol II occupancy and an increase in repressive H3K9me3 marks and heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) on the reporter locus. Our results indicate that Piwi identifies targets complementary to the associated piRNA and induces transcriptional repression by establishing a repressive chromatin state when correct targets are found.

A comparative encyclopedia of DNA elements in the mouse genome.

The laboratory mouse shares the majority of its protein-coding genes with humans, making it the premier model organism in biomedical research, yet the two mammals differ in significant ways. To gain greater insights into both shared and species-specific transcriptional and cellular regulatory programs in the mouse, the Mouse ENCODE Consortium has mapped transcription, DNase I hypersensitivity, transcription factor binding, chromatin modifications and replication domains throughout the mouse genome in diverse cell and tissue types. By comparing with the human genome, we not only confirm substantial conservation in the newly annotated potential functional sequences, but also find a large degree of divergence of sequences involved in transcriptional regulation, chromatin state and higher order chromatin organization. Our results illuminate the wide range of evolutionary forces acting on genes and their regulatory regions, and provide a general resource for research into mammalian biology and mechanisms of human diseases.

Population Genomics of Paramecium Species.

Population-genomic analyses are essential to understanding factors shaping genomic variation and lineage-specific sequence constraints. The dearth of such analyses for unicellular eukaryotes prompted us to assess genomic variation in Paramecium, one of the most well-studied ciliate genera. The Paramecium aurelia complex consists of ∼15 morphologically indistinguishable species that diverged subsequent to two rounds of whole-genome duplications (WGDs, as long as 320 MYA) and possess extremely streamlined genomes. We examine patterns of both nuclear and mitochondrial polymorphism, by sequencing whole genomes of 10-13 worldwide isolates of each of three species belonging to the P. aurelia complex: P. tetraurelia, P. biaurelia, P. sexaurelia, as well as two outgroup species that do not share the WGDs: P. caudatum and P. multimicronucleatum. An apparent absence of global geographic population structure suggests continuous or recent dispersal of Paramecium over long distances. Intergenic regions are highly constrained relative to coding sequences, especially in P. caudatum and P. multimicronucleatum that have shorter intergenic distances. Sequence diversity and divergence are reduced up to ∼100-150 bp both upstream and downstream of genes, suggesting strong constraints imposed by the presence of densely packed regulatory modules. In addition, comparison of sequence variation at non-synonymous and synonymous sites suggests similar recent selective pressures on paralogs within and orthologs across the deeply diverging species. This study presents the first genome-wide population-genomic analysis in ciliates and provides a valuable resource for future studies in evolutionary and functional genetics in Paramecium.

Landscape of transcription in human cells.

Eukaryotic cells make many types of primary and processed RNAs that are found either in specific subcellular compartments or throughout the cells. A complete catalogue of these RNAs is not yet available and their characteristic subcellular localizations are also poorly understood. Because RNA represents the direct output of the genetic information encoded by genomes and a significant proportion of a cell's regulatory capabilities are focused on its synthesis, processing, transport, modification and translation, the generation of such a catalogue is crucial for understanding genome function. Here we report evidence that three-quarters of the human genome is capable of being transcribed, as well as observations about the range and levels of expression, localization, processing fates, regulatory regions and modifications of almost all currently annotated and thousands of previously unannotated RNAs. These observations, taken together, prompt a redefinition of the concept of a gene.

The bioenergetic costs of a gene.

An enduring mystery of evolutionary genomics concerns the mechanisms responsible for lineage-specific expansions of genome size in eukaryotes, especially in multicellular species. One idea is that all excess DNA is mutationally hazardous, but weakly enough so that genome-size expansion passively emerges in species experiencing relatively low efficiency of selection owing to small effective population sizes. Another idea is that substantial gene additions were impossible without the energetic boost provided by the colonizing mitochondrion in the eukaryotic lineage. Contrary to this latter view, analysis of cellular energetics and genomics data from a wide variety of species indicates that, relative to the lifetime ATP requirements of a cell, the costs of a gene at the DNA, RNA, and protein levels decline with cell volume in both bacteria and eukaryotes. Moreover, these costs are usually sufficiently large to be perceived by natural selection in bacterial populations, but not in eukaryotes experiencing high levels of random genetic drift. Thus, for scaling reasons that are not yet understood, by virtue of their large size alone, eukaryotic cells are subject to a broader set of opportunities for the colonization of novel genes manifesting weakly advantageous or even transiently disadvantageous phenotypic effects. These results indicate that the origin of the mitochondrion was not a prerequisite for genome-size expansion.

From single-cell to cell-pool transcriptomes: stochasticity in gene expression and RNA splicing.

Single-cell RNA-seq mammalian transcriptome studies are at an early stage in uncovering cell-to-cell variation in gene expression, transcript processing and editing, and regulatory module activity. Despite great progress recently, substantial challenges remain, including discriminating biological variation from technical noise. Here we apply the SMART-seq single-cell RNA-seq protocol to study the reference lymphoblastoid cell line GM12878. By using spike-in quantification standards, we estimate the absolute number of RNA molecules per cell for each gene and find significant variation in total mRNA content: between 50,000 and 300,000 transcripts per cell. We directly measure technical stochasticity by a pool/split design and find that there are significant differences in expression between individual cells, over and above technical variation. Specific gene coexpression modules were preferentially expressed in subsets of individual cells, including one enriched for mRNA processing and splicing factors. We assess cell-to-cell variation in alternative splicing and allelic bias and report evidence of significant differences in splice site usage that exceed splice variation in the pool/split comparison. Finally, we show that transcriptomes from small pools of 30-100 cells approach the information content and reproducibility of contemporary RNA-seq from large amounts of input material. Together, our results define an experimental and computational path forward for analyzing gene expression in rare cell types and cell states.

Defining functional DNA elements in the human genome.

With the completion of the human genome sequence, attention turned to identifying and annotating its functional DNA elements. As a complement to genetic and comparative genomics approaches, the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements Project was launched to contribute maps of RNA transcripts, transcriptional regulator binding sites, and chromatin states in many cell types. The resulting genome-wide data reveal sites of biochemical activity with high positional resolution and cell type specificity that facilitate studies of gene regulation and interpretation of noncoding variants associated with human disease. However, the biochemically active regions cover a much larger fraction of the genome than do evolutionarily conserved regions, raising the question of whether nonconserved but biochemically active regions are truly functional. Here, we review the strengths and limitations of biochemical, evolutionary, and genetic approaches for defining functional DNA segments, potential sources for the observed differences in estimated genomic coverage, and the biological implications of these discrepancies. We also analyze the relationship between signal intensity, genomic coverage, and evolutionary conservation. Our results reinforce the principle that each approach provides complementary information and that we need to use combinations of all three to elucidate genome function in human biology and disease.

Integrating and mining the chromatin landscape of cell-type specificity using self-organizing maps.

We tested whether self-organizing maps (SOMs) could be used to effectively integrate, visualize, and mine diverse genomics data types, including complex chromatin signatures. A fine-grained SOM was trained on 72 ChIP-seq histone modifications and DNase-seq data sets from six biologically diverse cell lines studied by The ENCODE Project Consortium. We mined the resulting SOM to identify chromatin signatures related to sequence-specific transcription factor occupancy, sequence motif enrichment, and biological functions. To highlight clusters enriched for specific functions such as transcriptional promoters or enhancers, we overlaid onto the map additional data sets not used during training, such as ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, CAGE, and information on cis-acting regulatory modules from the literature. We used the SOM to parse known transcriptional enhancers according to the cell-type-specific chromatin signature, and we further corroborated this pattern on the map by EP300 (also known as p300) occupancy. New candidate cell-type-specific enhancers were identified for multiple ENCODE cell types in this way, along with new candidates for ubiquitous enhancer activity. An interactive web interface was developed to allow users to visualize and custom-mine the ENCODE SOM. We conclude that large SOMs trained on chromatin data from multiple cell types provide a powerful way to identify complex relationships in genomic data at user-selected levels of granularity.

Inducible RasGEF1B circular RNA is a positive regulator of ICAM-1 in the TLR4/LPS pathway.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) constitute a large class of RNA species formed by the back-splicing of co-linear exons, often within protein-coding transcripts. Despite much progress in the field, it remains elusive whether the majority of circRNAs are merely aberrant splicing by-products with unknown functions, or their production is spatially and temporally regulated to carry out specific biological functions. To date, the majority of circRNAs have been cataloged in resting cells. Here, we identify an LPS-inducible circRNA: mcircRasGEF1B, which is predominantly localized in cytoplasm, shows cell-type specific expression, and has a human homolog with similar properties, hcircRasGEF1B. We show that knockdown of the expression of mcircRasGEF1B reduces LPS-induced ICAM-1 expression. Additionally, we demonstrate that mcircRasGEF1B regulates the stability of mature ICAM-1 mRNAs. These findings expand the inventory of functionally characterized circRNAs with a novel RNA species that may play a critical role in fine-tuning immune responses and protecting cells against microbial infection.

Antitumor activity of a pyrrole-imidazole polyamide.

Many cancer therapeutics target DNA and exert cytotoxicity through the induction of DNA damage and inhibition of transcription. We report that a DNA minor groove binding hairpin pyrrole-imidazole (Py-Im) polyamide interferes with RNA polymerase II (RNAP2) activity in cell culture. Polyamide treatment activates p53 signaling in LNCaP prostate cancer cells without detectable DNA damage. Genome-wide mapping of RNAP2 binding shows reduction of occupancy, preferentially at transcription start sites, but occupancy at enhancer sites is unchanged. Polyamide treatment results in a time- and dose-dependent depletion of the RNAP2 large subunit RPB1 that is preventable with proteasome inhibition. This polyamide demonstrates antitumor activity in a prostate tumor xenograft model with limited host toxicity.